Reel lift



1967 w. F. WANLESS ETAL 3,304,069

REEL LIFT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 11, 1965 INVENTOR WILLIAM E WAN LESS S E a W N A R O R T Afi H A Y 1967 w. F. WANLESS ETAL REEL LIFT Filed Feb. 11, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM F. WANLESS BY HARLAND A. DAVENPORT ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,304,060 REEL LIFT William F. Wanless, Oregon, and Harland A. Davenport,

Brooklyn, Wis.; by court decree, said William F. Wanless, deceased, assignor to Bea Wanless, Oregon, Wis.

Filed Feb. 11, 1965, Ser. No. 431,938 2 Claims. (Cl. 254131) This invention relates to apparatus for lifting relatively heavy objects which have a transversely extending axle.

While our invention may be employed for lifting and supporting almost any object having a transversely extending axle, it is particularly well suited for lifting relatively heavy axially journaled reels of cable, wire, and the like, from a supporting surface and rotatably supporting same for paying out the cable or other material wound thereon. These reels often have a diameter of several feet and may have hundreds of feet of heavy duty cable wound thereon and, therefore, it is an extremely strenuous task for workmen to rotatably mount them on a support for paying out the cable.

It is recognized that the general idea of providing a single apparatus which functions both to lift and rotatably support an object having a transversely extending axle is not new; however, it is an object of our invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for performing these functions.

Another object of our invention is to provide apparatus for lifting and supporting axially journaled reels comprising a pair of relatively simple, yet sturdy, independent frame units for accommodating reels of various diameters and widths.

Another object of our invention is to provide lifting and supporting apparatus which has an upwardly open cradle which may be quickly and easily positioned under the axle of the object to be lifted when the apparatus is tilted forward.

Still another object of our invention is to provide apparatus for lifting and supporting objects having a transversely extending axle which has extensible handles to provide increased leverage for lifting very heavy objects,

' which handles may be telescoped into the frame while the object is being supported above the supporting surface and while the apparatus is being stored.

A further object of our invention provides lifting and supporting apparatus wherein the individual frame units each has a transverse stabilizing pivot foot, so that a single frame unit may be used to lift certain objects which have a transversely extending axle.

Still another object of our invention is to provide the individual frame units of our apparatus with a generally cylindrically transverse stabilizing pivot foot on which the frame unit is tilted for preventing damage to floors and other supporting surfaces.

A further object of our invention is to provide lifting and supporting apparatus which will support a plurality of reels both in and out of axial alignment.

Further objects, features and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred exemplary embodiment of our invention.

In the drawings:

ing an axially journaled reel.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevation view of the apparatus comprising our invention with parts thereof shown in cross-section.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of a part of our apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2, and

FIG.- 5 is, a side elevation view showing an axially journaled reel being lifted from a supporting surface by the apparatus comprising our invention.

More specifically, FIG. 1 shows a reel 10 having cable 11 wound thereon and having an axial journal 12 extending therethrough. The reel 10 is being supported by our lifting and supporting apparatus comprising a pair of identical frame units, shown generally at 13, resting on a supporting surface or floor.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, in a preferred form, each frame unit 13 of our invention generally comprises a longitudinal tubular base member 14 having an up standing tubular leg 15 and a relatively short, transverse, stabilizing pivot foot 16 rigidly attached at one end. A rigid brace 17 is rigidly attached to the opposite end of said tubular base member 14 and to the top end of upstanding tubular leg 15 to provide a very rigid and sturdy, generally triangular frame unit. Base member 14, upstanding leg 15, stabilizing pivot foot 16 and brace 17 are all preferably made of steel pipe and welded together.

Upstanding tubular leg 15 has a cap 18 suitably attached to its top end. The cap 18 may take the form of a circular steel plate which may be welded across the top end of the leg 15 as shown in the drawings. It may also take other suitable forms, such as for example, it may be a threaded cap which is turned onto the top end of leg 15 which may also be threaded. In any event, the cap 18 has a circular aperture 18a therein which has a diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of the upstanding tubular leg 15.

An elongated arm 19 is telescopingly received in upstanding tubular leg 15 and extends out of the top end thereof, through aperture 18a of cap 18. The arm 19, which is preferably made of steel pipe, has an outside diameter which is just slightly less than the diameter of aperture 18a in cap 18 so that arm 19 will be freely slideable through cap 18. Preferably the clearance should not be more than of an inch. The elongated arm 19 has an upwardly open transverse steel cradle 20 fixedly attached by suitable means such as welding on its upper end for receiving the journal 12 of the reel 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. The arm 19 has a plurality of vertically spaced adjusting holes 19a therein, which are adapted to be individually registered with a hole 15a in the upstanding tubular leg 15.

A locking pin 21 is slideably mounted in a generally U-shaped bracket 22 which is fixedly secured to a plate 23 by any suitable means such as rivets 24. The plate 23 is secured to brace 17 and upstanding tubular leg 15 in such a position that the pin 21 is in alignment with hole 15a in tubular leg 15. The pin 21 is biased by a spring 25 into hole 15a and one of the holes 19a in arm 19 which is in registry with hole 15a. The spring 25 acts against a washer 26 which abuts a cotter pin 27 in locking pin 21.

The upstanding tubular leg 15 forms an angle of less than with the longitudinal base member 14, so that the cradle 20 is positioned between the ends of the longitudinal base member 14 to prevent the apparatus from tipping over. In FIG. 2, the upstanding tubular leg 15 forms an angle of about 83 with a longitudinal base member 14.

Longitudinal tubular base member 14 has a cap 28 suitably attached to its end opposite the upstanding tubular leg 15. Cap 28 may be a steel plate having the shape illustrated in FIG. 3. The cap is adapted to be welded across the end of base member 14 so that the lower portion 28b of the cap extends beyond the bottom edge of base member 14 and will rest on the supporting floor. The lower portion 28b of cap 28 causes the end of base member 14 to which it is aflixed to be raised slightly above the supporting floor as shown in FIG. 2. The cap 28 has a circular aperture 28a therein which has a diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of the longitudinal base member 14.

An elongated handle member 29 is telescopingly received in the tubular base member 14 and extends outwardly through the aperture 28a of cap 28. The handle member 29 is preferably in the form of a steel pipe and has an outside diameter which is just slightly less than the diameter of aperture 28a in cap 28 so that the handle member 29 will be freely slideable through cap 28. Preferably, the clearance should not be more than of an inch. The handle member 29 has an outwardly protruding stop 30 welded to the side thereof adjacent the end thereof within the tubular base member 14. The stop 30 is adapted to engage cap 28 for preventing the handle member from being completely withdrawn from the tubular base member 14.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, three guide flanges 31 are spaced about the periphery of the end of handle member 29 in tubular base member 14 for keeping the handle member substantially centered within the base member. Other guide means, such as, a cylindrical collar threaded on or otherwise suitably attached to the end of handle member may be employed for centering the handle member within the base member.

Arm 19 has flanges 32 similar to flanges 31 on handle 29 for centering the arm in tubular leg 15. Flanges 32 will also prevent the arm from being completely Withdrawn from leg 15.

Handle member 29 may be provided with a plastic or rubber grip 29a to facilitate the grasping of the handle.

The upstanding tubular leg 15 may have a second upwardly-open, transverse cradle 33 fixedly attached thereto by any suitable means for receiving the journal of a second reel which can be rotatably supported by our apparatus simultaneously with a first reel in cradle 20.

The use of our apparatus will now be described as it relates to the lifting and supporting of axially journaled reels of cable, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.

As seen in FIG. 1, two frame units 13 are used to support reel 10. Since the two frame units are not connected together, they can be moved toward or away from each other as desired and, therefore, it is apparent that a number of reels mounted on a single elongated journal can be lifted and supported by two frame units.

To pick up a reel such as 10 having an axial journal 12, cradle 20 is first adjusted to a desired height above the support floor. The height should be at least slightly more than one-half the diameter of the reel 10. The cradle 20 of each frame unit 13 may be adjusted to the desired position by grasping the hooked end of locking pin 21 and pulling it rearwardly against the bias of spring 25 to such a position as to free it from hole 19a in arm 19 so that arm 19 may be freely pulled upwardly in tubular leg 15. The pin 21 is then released and spring 25 urges it through hole 15a in leg 15. Ordinarily, the pin will abut the side of arm 19, since it is unlikely that any of the holes 19a in arm 19 will be in exact registry with hole 15a. Therefore, the arm.19 may be moved upwardly and downwardly slightly until one of the holes in the arm is brought into register with hole 15a and pin 21 drops into the hole in arm 19 which has been brought into registry with hole 15a in leg 15. A second frame unit is similarly adjusted. The two frame units are then placed in a position forwardly of the reel 10, one unit being positioned at each side of the reel. Each frame unit will beindividually held in an upright position by its transverse stabilizng pivot foot 16.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a single workman may then grasp the grips 29a of handles 29 of the frame units and pull the handles outwardly to their fully extended position which is reached when stop 30 engages cap 28. The workman then tilts or pivots each of the units forwardly on its stabilizing pivot foot 16 until the cradle 20 of each unit is positioned under the transversely extending journal 12 of the reel 10 as shown an phantom in FIG. 5. The workman then exerts a downward thrust in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 on the handle 29 and, thus, pivots each unit backwardly on its pivot foot to lift the reel 10. The frame units are simultaneously pivoted backwardly until the lower portions 281) of caps 28 on base members 14 rest on the supporting surface as shown in FIG. 1. The handles 29, which in their fully extended position shown in'FIG. 5, give the workman sufficient leverage to lift very heavy reels, are then telescoped back into the tubular base members 14.

It is apparent that the lower portions 28b of caps 28 will cause the end of base members 14 to be elevated slightly so that the grips 29a of the handles 29 can be readily grasped by a workman for telescoping the handles into and out of base member 14.

It should be noted that the tubular transverse stabilizing pivot foot 16 provides a rounded fulcrum on which the units are pivoted and which will not gouge, cut or otherwise damage tile, wooden or other supporting surfaces,

It is understood that an elongated bar 34, shown in FIG. 1, may be inserted into the tubular foot 16 to give more transverse support, such as may be desired if the reel 10 must be rotatably supported on a transversely slanting supporting surface.

Since the frame units 13 are not connected together, and have telescoping handles and cradle arms, our apparatus is very compact and easy to store.

It is understood that our invention is not confined to the particular construction or arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modi fied forms thereof as may come within the scope of the following claims. 1

We claim:

1. Apparatus for lifting and supporting objects having a transversely extending axle, comprising:

(a) a longitudinal base member,

(b) an upstanding tubular leg fixedly attached at its bottom end to one end of said base member,

(c) an arm telescoped in said upstanding tubular leg and extending from its top end, said arm having a generally upwardly-open, transverse cradle for receiving the axle of the object to be lifted and supported,

(d) means for locking said arm in a selected extended position in said upstanding tubular leg,

(e) a transverse stabilizing pivot foot at the intersection of said base member and said leg, and

(f) a second generally upwardly-open, transverse cradle rigidly attached to said upstanding tubular leg for receiving the axle of a second object to be supported simultaneously with the first.

2. Apparatus for lifting and rotatably supporting an axially journaled reel, said apparatus comprising a pair of rigid frame units, one of said frame units being adapted to be positioned on each side of the reel, said frame units comprising:

intersection of said base member and said leg, and 5 (e) an elongated rigid member removably received in said tubular feet for releasably connecting said frame units together for increased stability.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1898 Staples 254--94 11/1898 Pfeirfier 292175 6 1,370,112 3/1921 Jacob 254-8 2,693,935 11/1954 Halbert 254-131 3,069,110 12/1962 Domer 242129.6

FOREIGN PATENTS 517,891 12/1920 France.

0 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Examiner. 

2. APPARATUS FOR LIFTING AND ROTATABLY SUPPORTING AN AXIALLY JOURNALED REEL, SAID APPRARATUS COMPRISING A PAIR OF RIGID FRAME UNITS, ONE OF SAID FRAME UNITS BEING ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED ON EACH SIDE OF THE REEL, SAID FRAME UNITS COMPRISING: (A) A LONGITUDINAL BASE MEMBER, (B) AN UPSTANDING LEG RIGIDLY ATTACHED AT ITS BOTTOM END TO ONE OF SAID BASE MEMBER, SAID UPSTANDING LEG TELESCOPINGLY RECEIVING AN ELONGATED ARM HAVING A GENERALLY UPWARDLY-OPEN TRANSVERSE CRADLE AT ITS UPPER END FOR RECEIVING THE JOURNAL OF SAID REEL, (C) A MEANS FOR LOCKING SAID ARM IN A SELECTED EXTENDED POSITION WITH RESPECT TO SAID UPSTANDING LEG, (D) A TRANSVERSE TUBULAR STABILIZING PIVOT FOOT AT THE INTERSECTION OF SAID BASE MEMBER AND SAID LEG, AND (E) AN ELONGATED RIGID MEMBER REMOVABLY RECEIVED IN SAID TUBULAR FEET FOR RELEASABLY CONNECTING SAID FRAME UNITS TOGETHER FOR INCREASED STABILITY. 